Lawn sprinkler



NV. 3, 1931. w, STEININGER )1,830,448

LAWN SPRINKLER Filed Jan. l2, 1929 .Q5 lcs- -Y wi//am Sie/)vingerPatented Nov. 3, 1.931l

`unirsi) STATES Parar 'rFicE WILLIAM STEININGER, F BERWYN, ILLINOIS,.liSSiIGrNOl'aiVv TO W. D. .ALLEN MANUFAC- H TUBING- COMPANY, OIE'CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ACORIORATION OF ILLINOIS LAWN SPRINKLER Applicationled January 12, 1929. SerialNo. 332,178.

i Y This invention relates to lawn sprinklers and more particularly tolawn sprinklers including a rotatable sprinkler head mounted on a base,rotation ofthe sprinkler head being effected as an incident to thedischarge of water from one or more nozzles.

. An important object of the present invention is to provide a lawnsprinkler of the type yabove referred to in which the rotary element ismountedon the base vin an improved manner so as to be freely rotatable.

Another importantv object of the invention is to provide means wherebythe rotatable sprinkler head may be locked against rotatien when desiredso as to convert the rotating sprinkler to a stationary sprinkler.

Still another object of the invention'is to provide an improved nozzleconstruction whereby the kind ot stream discharged by the sprinkler maybe adjusted to suit various requirements and also to provide a nozzlemounted on the rotatable'sprinkler head in such a way that it may bereadily adjusted to any4 desired positionrelative to the sprinkler head.

' The invention also contemplates the production of a lawn sprinkler ofthe type above referred to at a minimum of expense while at the sametime producing a highquality, neat appearing sprinkler, and in general,it is the object of the invention to provide an improved sprinkler ofthe class described.

ther objects and advantages of the invention will be understood byreference to the following specification and accompanying drawings inwhich I have illustrated a lawn sprinkler embodying a selected form or"my invention.

In the drawings: v Fig. 1 is a side elevation. l Fig. 2 is a verticalsection through the axis of the rotating sprinkler head and the base.Fig. 3 is a section through the axis of one ot the nozzles shown in Fig.1.

` Fig. 4.- is a plan of a detail of construction shown also in Figs. 1and 2, and

Fig. 5 is a view partly in elevation and parti ly in sectioncorresponding to a part of Fig.

2, but showing a modified construction.

Referring now to the drawings, I provide to tit corresponding threads inthe outletV aperture 13 ot the base as indicated at 15. 'the tubularpost 14 extends upwardly from the base, as clearly shown in thedrawings, and a hollow stem 16 is rotatably mounted in the tubular post,bearings 17 and 18 adjacent 'the upper` andlower ends respectively ot'the tubularpost being provided tor so supporting the hollow stein.Adjacent` its upper end, the hollow stem 16 is provided with avlaterally outwardly projecting flange 19 which provides a downwardlyfacing, outwardly extending shoulder 20 which is adapted to engage theupper end oit' the tubular post 14 to position the stem in the post.

For preventing upward displacement of the hollow stem ktrom the post, Iprovide the lower end portion of the hollow stem with a reduced endportion 21, thereby forming a downwardlyV facing seat or shoulder 22adapted lto receive anannular stop member 23, as clearly shown in Fig.2. The stop member 23 extendslaterally outwardly beyond .the peripheryot the stem 16 and overlaps the lower end portion ot the post, asindica-ted at 24. The annular stop member 23 may be secured in place onthe stem in any convenient manner and in the present in stance, I findit convenient to provide vthe reduced end portion 21 of the stem of suchlength that a portion thereof may be swaged over the stop member asshown at 25.

The upper end of the hollow stem 16 is provided with screw threading 26and a sprinkler head 27 including a downwardly vprojecting connectingboss 28, is mounted on bored out andprovided with screw threadingfitting the screw threading 'end of the stem.

26 on the upper of the opening The sprinkler head 27 includes hollowarms 28 and 29 which communicate with the interior of the hollow stem 16and which arms terminate at their outer ends in upwardly projecting endportions 30 and 31. Nozzles such as shown at 32 and 33 are mounted onthe ends 30 and 31 respectively of the sprinkler head arms. Y Y

The nozzles 32 and 33 are preferably of an adjustable type so thatvarious kinds of streams canY be discharged by the sprinkler and thenozzles are preferably mounted on,

`locking the head against rotation, I provide a slidable pawl or lockingdevice 34 which is slidably mounted in an opening 35 provided in alaterally outwardly extending flange 36 which is formed as an integralpart of the post 14. @ne convenient manner of providing the opening 35is to cut'or otherwise forma crosswise extending notch or groove in thevperiphery of the flange 36.V A

wide ring-like member 37 is then slipped overV the flange 36 so as toclose the outer sideof Vthe said groove and the ring 37 may be an!chored in place by identing the same in one or more places, as indicatedat 38.V The locking device 34 is provided adjacent-its upper end with alaterally inwardly projecting ridge-like boss or part 39 which isadapted to engage a milled or serrated periphery of the flange 19 of therotatable stem 16. The lower end of the locking device 34 is bentoutwardly to` provide a flange or tab-like Vportion 40 for facilitatingadjustment ofY the locking device into or out of engagement with theserrations of the flange 19. The 1n- 'wardl r ro'ectino' ridOfe art 39valso serves to prevent loss of, or accidental removal of the lockingmember 34 from the'opening 35, the combined thickness of the projection39 and member 34 being greater than the width Obviously,- the lange part40 prevents removal of the locking member from the slot by upwardmovement in the slot. v

For some purposes, I nd it convenient to provide serrations such asshown at 41 (Fig. 5), in the periphery of the downwardly extendingconnecting boss 28 of the Vsprinkler head, such serrations beingsubstituted .for similar serrations provided in the flange 19 of `thestem 16, as previously described. When the serrations are provided inthe boss instance; with a laterally outwardly extending annular 28 ofthe rotatable head, the stem 16 may be the pawl will be sprung outwardlyslightly at its upperfend so that there will be suilicient frictionalengagement between the upper end of thepaw] and the serrations, andbetween the pawl andwallsof the opening35, to maintain the pawl in suchoperative position of adjustment. When it is desired to unlock thesprinkler head, the pawl is merely pressed downwardly so that the upperend thereof is disengaged from thesaid serra-` tions.Y

Asshown in Fig. the pawl l34 may be slidably mounted'on a Vflange or`boss 36a which projects laterallyy from the post.14 insteadof in anannular flange such as flange '36 of Figs. 1 and'2. I n this caseftheouter end of theboss 36a is a flat surface provided witlrarecessforslidably receiving the pawl 34, and ka plate37a overlying the pawl, issecuredto the boss so as to retain" the pawl inthe recess.l Also, a pinsuch as shown at 67 may be provided forpreventing the pawl from droppingdownwardlythrough therel cess. The pinelimnates the possibility ot theprojecting ridge 39 Ventering intothe recess whereby the pawl mightpossibly ybefcome jammed in inoperative position.

The nozzles 32 and 33 may be of any conventional form, but f I prefer to`provide nozzlesof the constructionshown in Fig. 3. rThis constructionincludes a bent, hollow `stem 42 having its lower end 43 rotatablyfitting in yor telescoping into, the upwardly` projecting end of thearm,.31 inthe present The hollow` stem 42 is. provided stop flange 44which is adapted to `be seated on lthe upperend of the part 31 oi the'arm, a gasket V45 of-compressible material being preferably interposedsoY as to facilitatethe provision of a water tight oint. A clamping nut46 having an inwardly extending flange 47 overlying the flange 44clampsthe flange V44towards-the upper end of the part 31, it

.being understood that theclamping nut 46 vis provided with-internalscrew threading 48 which is adapted to engage the external screwthreading on the upper end of the part 31. Clamping action of the nut 46is limit-ed by engagement Ythereof with the end or" the arm part V31, sothat the gasket 45is efectivelycompressed sufficiently toV insure :the'provisionoiiaj' water. tight joint between eff;

'movedA into engagement with the serrations,

iso

the bent stem part Ll2andthe end ofthe Sprinkler arm while permittingrotation-of the hollow stein in the openingof the part 3l, while alsoserving to frictionally hold the hollow stem in any desired fixedposition of adjustment.

The upper end of the stem 4t2 is provided with a tip member which ispreferably shaped at its outer end as indicated at 5l, for a purposewhich will presently appear. The tip member 50 is mounted on the outerend of the stem 42, preferably by means of'.

a tubular tongue-like part 52 which fits in a. counter bore 53 providedin the outer end of the said stem. The tubular tongue 52 may be a drivetit in the counter bore 53 or it may be otherwise ixedly securedinplace, for instance by means of soldering. The tip part 50 is bored outaxially, as indicated at 54, and transversely as shown at 55, so thatwater may pass from the hollow arm 29 through the stem 42, through thebore 5-1 of the tip, and out through the transverse bore 55.Intermediate the transverse bore 55 and the tubular tongue 52, the tip5() is provided with an enlarged portion 56 having exterior screwthreading 57 provided thereon.

A sleeve 58 provided with interior screw threading 59 is rotatablymounted on the tip 50, the screw threading 59 of the sleeve engagingthescrew threading 57 of the tip so vthat by rotation of the sleeve, thesame will be adjusted axially of the tip. The outer end portion of thesleeve is provided with an inwardly extending flange part 60 whichcooperates with the shaped outer end 5l of the tip to control the kindof stream discharge from the nozzle. The opposite end of the sleeve 58is provided with exterior screw threading 6l which receives a packingnut 62 which serves to compress packing material 63 between the inwardlychamferred end 6l of the sleeve and the opposite wall '65 of the packingnut. Thepacking 63 prevents leal;n age out of the rear end of the sleeveand also serves to frictionally hold the sleeve 58 in the desiredposition of adjustment. rl`he nozzle structure above described is suchthat each nozzle may be completely shut off by screwing the sleevedownwardly on the tip until the inner edge of the flange 60 of th-esleeve engages the tapered portion 66 of the tip. These parts, beingpreferably made of brass, will readily seat themselves so as Vto form asubstantially water tight joint. The

construction shown is obviously very simple and easy to manufacture sothat the cost of production is maintained at a minimum.

The above described sprinkler construction is, in its entirety, quitesimple to manufacture, there being nocomplicated parts which requiregreat skill to produce. l am aware that changes may be made in the formand construction of parts and in the manner of assembling same, withoutdeparting from `the' spirit of the invention, the scope of which shouldbe determined by reference to the fol lowing claims, the same beingconstrued as broadly as possible consistent with the state of the art.

' I claim as my invention: l. ln a sprinkler of the class described, thecombination of a stationary base part, a sprinkler head part rotatablymounted onsaid base, and a device axially slidablyy mounted on one ofsaid parts and arranged tov be adjusted to engage a portion of theotherl for locking said head part againsty rotation, said device and theengaged part being provided with means for effecting positiveinterlocking engagement therebetween.

2. In a sprinkler of the class described,

the combination of a stationary base part, a

scribed, the combination of a base, a tubular post extending upwardlyfrom said base and provided adjacent its upper end with alatorallyoutwardly extending flange, said flange being provided with an openingex-` and substantially parallel to the axis of the post, avhollow stemrotatably mounted in said post and having spaced points of bearingengagement with said post, respectively located l adjacent the top andbottom thereof, a sprinkler head carried by said rotatable stem, adevice mounted in the slot in said flange so as to beslidable axially ofsaid post, said device being arranged to be adjusted to effectengagement of an end portion thereofl with a peripheral portion of oneof said rotating parts, such part being provided with a plurality ofcircumferentially spaced serrations, and `said end of said device beingprovided with an inwardly projecting part adapted to interlock with saidserrations.

l. ln a sprinkler of the class described, a tubular member, a sprinklerhead carried thereby, a base rotatably mounting said tubular member,said tubular member hai/'ing ir!V regular-ities formed on the outer wallthere-` of, and a latch member slidably carried by said base andengageable with the irregularities of said tubular member for positivelylocking said tubular member against rotation, said latch member beingformed of resilient material, whereby a portion thereof may be sprungoutwardly so as to engage said irregularities and will thereupon remainpositively. engaged therewith.

tending therethrough adjacent its periphery 'v iso tubular memberagainst rotation, said latch member being formed of resilient material,whereby a portion thereof may be'sprung outwardly so as to engage saidserrations and will thereupon remain positively engaged therewith. Y

6. In a sprinkler of the class described and in combination, a tubularmember, a sprinkler head carried thereby, a base rotatably mountingsaidtubular member, said tubular member having a plurality ofirregularities on the outer wall thereof, an annular boss formed on saidbase and having a longitudinal groove formed therein, a latch memberlongitudinally slidable in said groove andfhaving a portion thereofengageable with said irregularities forpositively locking said tubularmember againstvrotation, said latch member being formed of resilientmateriahwhereby a portion thereof may be sprung outwardly so as toengage said irregularities and will thereupon remain positively engagedtherewith, and an annular member embracing said boss for retaining saidlatch member.

7. In a sprinkler of the class described and in combination, wa tubularmember, a sprinlrler head carried thereby, a base rotatably mountingsaidtubular member, said tubular member having a plurality of serrations onthe outer wall thereof, an annular boss formed on said base and having alongitudinal groove formed therein, a latch member longitudinallyslidable in said groove and having a portion thereof engageable withsaid serrations for positively locking said tubular member againstrotation, said latch member being formed of resilient material, wherebya portion thereof may be sprung outwardly so as to engage saidserrations'and will thereupon remain positively engaged therewith, andan annular member embracing said boss for retaining said latch member.

,8. In a sprinkler of the class described andI in combination, a tubularmember, a sprinlrler head carried thereby, a base rotatably mountingsaid tubular member, said tubular member having a plurality ofserrations on Ythe outer wall thereof, an annular boss latch memberIbeing formed of resilient ma- 'Y latch and having means adjacent itslower end serving as a handle and also to limit the upward displacementof said latch.`

VIVILLIAM STEININGER.

